Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Giveaway!!! { SE Portland, OR Family Photographer}

Right now I am hosting a giveaway that involves 5 wonderful family friendly businesses in my neighborhood. I'm giving away a full portrait session and there are 5 other fantastic prizes involved. If you haven't entered yet, you can enter by clicking here. Do it quickly, you only have until 11:59pm on Thursday! I can't wait to see who wins this amazing prize package that is chock full of Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood wonderfulness. I grew up in a small town (a really small town) and living in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood I find that there is such a strong sense of community that I can still have that small town feel right in the middle of a big city. Best of both worlds. Now, on to the five fabulous local businesses that make up this giveaway package and why I personally love them...

Camp Hollyhock

(Gabriella wore a Camp Hollyhock headband for her 6 year old shoot.)

Camp Hollyhock is a lovely little shop on 13th street. Camp Hollyhock sells handmade, re-purposed vintage clothing and accessories for women and children. The store is owned by mother-daughter duo, Marcee and Katie Melton. The first day I dropped in at Camp Hollyhock I immediately bought two headbands for my personal family photo session and then mentally filled out a wish list of about 30 other things I wanted for photographing babies and little girls. Plus... a few things I wanted for myself. When you book a session with me, I send you a handy little "What to Wear Guide." In it, I've listed Camp Hollyhock as one of my favorite places to shop for dresses and accessories. Textural details such as lace, embroidery and vintage trim photograph beautifully and you'll find plenty of it in this shop. You can achieve a feminine and timless look that won't scream 2011 when you see your family photos in 20 years.

You can check out Camp Hollyhock on facebook here and keep up with all of the new creations.

Picassitos

Art education is certainly near and dear to my heart... I received my BA in studio art and k-12 art ed. You probably don't want to ask me what I think about the lack of art education in most Oregon schools because I can get just a wee bit soap boxy. Fortunately, there are people like Sarah Gault. Sarah is the friendly and welcoming owner of Picassitos, a relatively new arts and crafts studio on 17th ave. When you visit Picassitos you'll discover a bright and cheerful little studio space that welcomes artists of all ages. You can let your sweet little one paint and create to their hearts content and not have to dread the clean up afterwards. I love making art with my children, but even I sometimes have a deep dread the kitchen clean up afterwards. On most weekday mornings from 9am-3pm Picassitos is open for drop in art (sounds like a pretty great rainy day house escape plan.) From 3pm-5:30 Sarah offers classes for kids and on Tuesday and Thursday evening the tall folks can get in on some classes of their own. You can get more information about schedules and pricing on the website. You can also keep up with Picassitos on facebook.


Haggis McBaggis


Haggis Mcbaggis is a whimsical children's shoe boutique that also carries unique clothing items, accessories and gifts. I have one problem with Haggis McBaggis.... it is always difficult to get my kids to leave the store. I mean, there is a slide after all. Fortunately, the employees are welcoming and helpful and the slide distracts toddlers from their main agenda in a shoe store: throwing shoes off the displays. You can follow Haggis McBaggis on facebook so you will always know what is new. If you live in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by on Monster March day for balloons and goodies!

Nectar Frozen Yogurt Lounge

(Juliana enjoying some Nectar last summer on a Mama-Daughter date.)

Nectar moved in on Bybee when I was about 6 months pregnant with Reed. I can tell you that more than a few times I walked (waddled? surely I didn't waddle) out of there with nice big cup of froyo thinking how stereotypical I must look. I will even go so far as to admit that one evening I had a serious Nectar craving, but the kids were in bed and I was home alone. I took some plain regular greek yogurt and sprinkled some crushed Halloween candy over it. What can I say? It got me through the night. In my non-pregnant state, I still enjoy an afternoon frozen yogurt, but I haven't been tempted to re-try the greek yogurt and candy. Right now Nectar has Pumpkin "on tap." Try mixing it with cake batter flavor... amazing. Be sure to follow on facebook so you will always know if you favorite flavor is in.

Mocha Momma's Good Coffee Cafe

Mocha Momma's is a charming coffee shop and cafe that fits right into our neighborhood. Offering breakfast until 3pm, Kettleman's bagels, lunch and pastries you won't have to rely on the latte to fill you up. Be sure to visit Mocha Momma on facebook.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Gabriella, age 6 {Portland, OR Child Photographer}

My Gabriella. 6 years ago she came into the world with her full head of black hair and made me a mother. I have always wanted to be a mother. I spent many hours of my childhood imaging out my future children and giving them an array of soap opera worthy names. My firstborn girl has many of my maternal, baby loving, imaginative and dramatic traits, but I can clearly see some of Jonathan's personality in her as well.

For Gabriella's 6 year old photo session I wanted to capture a slice of who she is right now and one of the first things you'll discover about Gabriella is that she is a voracious reader. She devours meaty chapter books at an astonishing rate. Including books in our session not only captured a bit of what Gabriella loves, but it also gave her a way to relax and forget about the camera.























Friday, September 23, 2011

The Parry Family {Portland Family Photographer}

Kellie Parry (you may remember her from the weddings we worked together here and here) is a good friend that I happen to have a LOT in common with. To name just a few... We both have an fine arts degree, we both welcomed a firstborn baby girl in the summer of 2005, we both started portrait photography businesses around the same time and we both suffer from MBACS.

You've never heard of MBACS? Probably because I just made it up. It stands for "Mom Behind A Camera Syndrome" and it is a serious condition. You may suffer from MBACS if you frequently find yourself at the back end of a camera endlessly documenting your family's day to day life and yet there is little photographic proof of your actual existence. If your child asks you questions like, "Hey Mom, were you actually AT any of my birthday parties?" then you likely have an acute case of MBACS.

To remedy this situation, Kellie and I decided a family photo swap was in order. Our family went first and braved a little baby spit up and some obnoxious bees. The Parrys went the next weekend and braved a gloomy day and a few raindrops.

These are a few of the images I captured of the fantastic Perry family.
















And, just to prove that I really do exist....




Sunday, September 11, 2011

Family Portraits in the Pearl District {Portland, OR Family Photographer}

This family put together a fun weekend in PDX in honor of their mother's birthday and decided to throw some family portraits into the mix. We met up at Tanner Springs park in the Pearl district and enjoyed a warm end-of-summer evening.
















Happy Birthday Anita! You have a wonderful family!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Mia {Portland, OR Senior Portraits}

Gorgeous.






















Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Welcoming Jubilee: The belly {Portland, OR Maternity Photographer}

f you have followed this blog for any length of time, you will recognize Ashley... Mom to Shira, gorgeous woman, prolific knitter. I love her and her little family and I feel I am quite lucky to count her as a very close friend. Ashley and Ben's son Shira is a "cousin" to our kids (as decided by Gabriella back when Shira was a but a belly bump himself.) Needless to say, the entire Whisler household was all quite excited about the impending arrival of a baby sister for Shira.


Jubilee Joy arrived on Monday the 20th. There was 8lbs and 13oz of baby in that bump!


As previously mentioned, Ashley knits. She knits actual things that people can wear and use. I'm a little jealous of that fact. We all have our ways to get through those last few weeks of pregnancy... Ashley knit. For our shoot I asked her to bring along a sweet little baby item that she was working on. I didn't ask her to coordinate her yarn to our location, but I always appreciate it when things work out that way.




To celebrate Ashley and welcome baby Jubliee, some of the women in Ashley's life came together for a blessingway. A blessingway is a bit like a shower... but more focused on the mother and the depth of motherhood and not really about gifts. Each woman brought a bead to contribute for a necklace that now belongs to Ashley and will someday belong to Jubilee. Each woman also brought a note, letter or poem. It was a pretty powerful and emotional time together (but it is pretty easy to get me emotional.) When Ashley and I were planning this shoot we talked about meaningful items we could incorporate. Ashley was the one that thought to bring the box.


Of course, Shira came along and wanted to investigate. I love this interaction.


This might be my favorite. Stunning...


Hmmm? You are dying to see that little bundle of sweetness? I suppose I could do one teeny tiny sneakety peak.

Perfection. I could eat her up. She makes Reed seem HUGE though. Sigh.